Paddle-wheel-boat drive



April 2, 1929. F. R. DRAVO PADDLE'WHEEL BOAT DRIVE Filed May 1927 Patented Apr. 2, 1929. I

" STAT Es P TEN O 6E rannorsnnnAvo, or .rrrrrsnonen, PnnnsYLvanIA, assrenon To nnAvo' ooN- TRACTIIIG- COMLFAZETY', OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATIGN OF PENNSYLVANIA.

; rannnn-wnnnn-noar nnrvnl i l Application filed May 7, 1927.; Serial No. 189,568.

This invention relates to paddle wheel boat drives, and particularly to drives for boats employing a plurality of paddle wheels.

In operating paddle wheel boats, it is often. undesirable to operate all of the paddle wheels. When running down stream it may be desirable to use only a single wheel hen When a paddle wheel is put out of opera- It should tion it is undesirable to let it drag.

' be free to rotate idly as otherwise it offers considerable resistance and also interferes with steering. Y

I provide a boat drive having a plurality of paddle wheels with separate drive means for the same and means for disengaging a paddle wheel from its drive means solas to permit idling of the; disconnected paddle wheel. With this arrangement one or more paddle wheels may be cut out of operation as desired and the boat operated on the re'-.

maining paddle wheel, or wheels. Since the disconnected wheels are freeto idle, they do not act as a drag, nor do they interfere with steering. The arrangement is also of advantage when starting the-engines.

r 1 preferably employ two paddle wheels at the stern of the boat and place the prime .moversforwardly of the wheels. The prime movers are connected to the wheels through gearing and clutches are employed adjacent the prime movers. The gearing is made reversible so that the drive shaft of the disconnected wheel may turn freelywhile the boat is running.

The drawing'is a top plan view partly broken away showing the present/preferred form of my invention as applied to a stern wheel paddle boat.

The drawingshows' a boat'having a hull indicated generally bythe reference charac 'ter 2. A paddle supporting frame 3 is formed at the rear end of the boat and pad- 1 fere with steering.

dle wheels 4 and 5are mounted therein. The rudders are indicated at 6.

Each paddlewheel is provided with a spur 8 is mounted on an intermediate shaft 9 and 1s connected through bevel gearing 10v to a drive shaft '11 extending longitudinally of the boat. The gear connection is more specifically described and claimed in the copendmg application of Bernard H. Kersting, Serial No. 148,222, filed November 13, 1926. Each drive shaft- 11 is connected to an ingear 7 meshing with a pinion 8. The pinion ternal combustion engine 12 through a clutch '13 having an operating handle 14. The shaft 11 is provided with flexible couplings 15 to take" care of twisting or warping of the boat frame and paddle supporting frame under load.

If it is desired to'use full powenboth engines are operatively connected to their respective paddle wheels aand 5 through'the clutches 13. There are many occasions, as for example, when running down stream or when approaching a lock or a wharf, when it is desired to cut one of the paddle wheels out of operation. Itfwould not besatisfactory to merely run one engine and leave the other enginestationary without in some way disconnectinglthe paddle wheel from the idle engine. Unless the idlepaddle wheel is disconnected, it will offer considerable resistance to movement of the boat and will also inter- With my construction the shaft 11 may be disconnected by its prime mover simply by operating theclutch lever .14, The paddlewhe-el then is free to rotate as the gear connection to the shaft 11 is operable in either direction; in other words, the

gear is reversible as opposed to irreversible drives such as some worm gearing.

. My construction is very simple and the paddle wheels are readily controlled. The

use of longitudinally extending shafts with the prime mover placed forwardly of the paddle wheelsis desirable,sinceit makes the clutch levers morereadily' accessible. The employment of a plurality of paddlewheels at the rear of the boat is particularly desir- I able because the tendency of the boat to travel to one side with only one paddle,wheelflopera ating is materially; less than where side pad dle wheels are employed.

I have illustrated and described a p're-,

ferred embodiment of my invention and a modification thereof, but it Will be understood that the invention is not limited to the form shown as it may be otherwise embodied Within the scope of the following claim.

-I claim:

A boat drive comprising a pair of paddle Wheels having shafts extending crosswise of the boat, a separate drive means for each engaging the outer end of the paddle Wheel shaft, and means for disengaging a paddle Wheel from its drive means so as to permit idling of the disconnected paddle wheel. 7 In testimony WhereofI have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCIS R. BRAVO. 

